Shoe-heel



G. E. ROHMER.

SHOE HEEL.

APPLICATION man Tia. 2o. |919.

1,356,829.' Patented oet. 2611920.

GABRIELE. Bomann, or BROOKLYN, NEW Yoan.

SHOE-HEEL To all whom t may concern;

Be vit known that I, GABRIEL-E. ROHMER," a citizen of the United States, and'resident of the borough of Brooklyn, in the countyy of Kings and State of New York.have inl vented certain new and usefulr; Improvemen-ts in'Shoe-Heels, of which the following is a specification.

The lpresent invention `relates to shoe heels, and while the present disclosed embodiment shows particularly a shoe heel for ladies shoes, it will be apparent. from the description' hereinafter giventhat the invention is not restricted to this use, but may 1 be used upon heels for lmens shoes`orinv fact in any connection in which the"principle will be applicable.

An object of the invention is to provide cushioning means within the heel adapted to take up the shock of impact in walking and to compensate the rigidity of the heel I in'` walking 0r standing, such cushioning means being4 subject onlyv to transmitted forces in absorbing and compensating shocks, as distinguished from those heels having exposed cushioning means, which directly engage the Aground in walking. A

I 'l further object is-to provide aheel whichmay be attached and detached with facility, will be securely held' to the shoe and will be wear resisting to a high degree.v

The invention is particularly vadapted to aluminum, bakelite, or other rigid shoe heels made of moldable material, .which inthe e absence of cushioning means are iniexible, rigid and extremely tiresome. upon the wearer, imparting shocks from the impact .1 of walking directly to thel wearers heel. Iv propose to provide an inner cushioning .4fmeans, having a relatively large' area as -compared to the small surface which conftacts .with the ground, so that the shocks upon the heelwill be distributed over-and absorbed b a elativelyl'large surface, land will, there ore, lbe felt to a very small degree by thewearr. I further propose-to Aprovide inconnection withfrthe'fmain cush- -ioning meansauxiliary air cushion means to .the A end thatv the. .heel will be yieldabl-y .n supported .either during walking or when' there is merely` a dead weight thereon as"v "when 'standingrsti thereby greatly ad fng to; the com'fort'oft e wearer. A still further 'ob'ect `is `to provide "-a' heel which will bel yiel able so that itA will notbreak loose Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led February 20, 1919. Serial No. 278,230.

f from the shoe when any Patented oca-2c, 1920.

. great weight or distortlon is placed` thereon,

'I further propose to provide in a heel having interior cushioning means, an improved contact cushion means, that is, an

exposed cushion to contact-with the ground,

and adapted to coperate with the interior cushioning means to provide a highly resilient heel, which will make contact with the ground substantially noiseless, will relieve c" i the rigid portion of the heel of strains, and` will add materiallg7 to the comfort of thev x wearer. Other objects are to provide such a contactvcushion whichmay beattached y and removed with facility, will not become displaced during use, will have in connecf.

tion therewith an air cushion, and as one em,-

cushion which may be readil attached and detached without the use o screws, nails, or the like,7 and which while in' use will be securely held against displacement and distortion.

With the' above and other objects in view, embodiments of my invention areshown in4 vthe accompanying drawings, and these'embodiments` will be hereinafter more fullyv describedwith reference thereto, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings: v Figure 1 fs a planview of a ladys shoe Vbodiment AI propose to provide a contact heel embodying one form of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view thereof, taken alongl thefline 2--2 of Fig.`1;

Fig. 3 is ya vertical sectional view of a modified form of construction;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a contact cushion formed according to my invention; Fig. 5 is a vfragmentary sectional view of the lower portion ofva heel provided with a modified form of'contact cushion; formed according to my invention and in which the same is attachable and detachable withoutA the use of screws, nails or the like; and

Fig.'6 is aplan' View of the contact cushion shown in Fig. 5. l

Similar reference charactersindicate corresponding parts throughout the. several figures lof the drawings.

vReferrin to the drawings, and more particularly' Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, the heel 10 is in the present embodiment ofcast metal (die-cast aluminum), moldedY bakelite, or

other :suitable material, 'and it will .be under-A 11.0l

stood that other types of heels may be employed. In its upper enlarged end there 1s provided a recess 11, the sides of which are inclined to the bottom, the lateral 4configuration of the recess substantially following the contour of the heel. vA well or socket 12 'is provided in the base of the recess, which makes'vthe heel substantially lighter, and, as itI will presently appear, forms an air pocket.

Within the recess 11 there is provideda resilient block ,13,v preferably of rubber, its pe- 'riphery being beveled as at 13a to engage the through i v The reduced end of the heel is recessed as at 22, anda ieee of leather 23 is set thereinV inclined Sides of the recess within wedging fit, the lower surface of the block being raised from the base of the recess to form therebetween an air cushion space, the socket 12 constituting aportion of this air cushion space. v The upper surface of the resilient 'the block as indicated by-the dotted lines 50 (Fi 2) without projection of the screw -hea s.

and secured vy means of a screw 24,'and an exposed cap of leather 25 is secured thereto" over the end ofthe heel by means of nails -25a passing u' into the piece 23, the Apoints of the nails eing upset base ofthe recess 22.

l A bead 26 is, formed at the lower end 'of the heel, and above .this bead the heel-is covered with a coatingvvof enamel, ora covering of clothv or leather 27, the bead bein exposed so that it has the appearance o? the l against the metal v separate metallic Plates usually provided becapi tween-.the end o the heel and the leather while at the same time it has the function of forming :V an abutment for the covering. 'Covering 27 overlaps the upper edge 1 of the heel in the usual manner as at 2 7".

The heel is attached to the shoel by means of diagonally driven. nails 28 driven througlhA t e l' `1 the resilient block -113,the up" er 28" of of the heel.

shoe beinginserted and glu between the inclined surface of the recess and the beveled periphery of the block, thepoints of the nails being u set a "ainst'the-metal surface he he'e being entirely attached by means of the-'screws v14: and 15, it may be very' readily attached and detached by in-A off oval or non-circular contour correspond- -sertion and removal of the screws.

l' The sole-,of the shoe is attached bylinails :529,1 which` are preferabh arranged alternately to nails 28, and w ich are driven in and steel spring 30 is secured to the same manner throu i h thev resilient block 13 andthe upper 28- o the shoe against the vmetal surface ofthe heel, b ut of greater length. I have indicated in dotted lines in Fia'. 2 the manner of attaching the sole.v

fn walking, the shocks of impact are taken up by the resilient block and the air cushion beneath the same, the shocks being .distributed from thel small point of contact with the ground over a substantially large area of the cushioning means, their intensity being so reduced and distributed by the cushioning means that they are practically 'unfelt by the wearer. While standing, 'the weight of the wearer is not ri idly supported as with the old form of hee s, but instead rests upon resilient cushioning means which in connection with the air cushion functions to a considerable'degree when a mere weight is-.placed thereon without any shockof impact. much easier walking without the danger of breaking off the heel, relieving the shoe of the uncom ensated strains which are set up in the ri i forms of shoe heels/at present in use, so t at a shoe provided with a heel according to the present. inv'ention will be longer-lived, more comfortable and will retain its shape and appearance for a greater 'time than has heretofore been possible.

inFig 3 I have 4illustrated a modified form of my invention in which a laminated the upper surface of the resilient b ock 13 and extends along the arch of the hoe. This spring is secured in place by the vscrews 14and 15 which secure the heel to the block' 13, apertured bosses 31 and 32 being struck u from v e the sur ace of the spring and which engav the depressions 20 and 21 o the block 13, the ends of thebosses being turned inwardly as at 31a and 32to engage beneath the screw heads. a

Upon the under surface of the block 13 there is providedv a pro'ecting portion-33, which V fits into the soc et 12, forming a greater `cushioning area, and at the same The flexibility of the .heel permits ofv time resiliently supporting the u per portion ofthe block l;13 centrallyan substantially within the lines of force .directed from the socket 12 is spaced away from the surface of the portion 33, as at 34, to permit of the exansion of the cushion.

AAt t e base of the heel there is provided a socket 35 relatively deep and of oval or other non-circularl cross section'. A heel cap 36 formed of rubber or other suitable resilient material and shaped to conform to the lateral contour of the heel and provided at its upper side with a plug or projection 37 the contacting edge of the heel. The wall of screw 39 passing upwardly through the same and into the metal of the heel, the head of the screw being countersunk in an enlargement` 41 of the hole 42 provided through the cap. The corner 43 between the base of the heel and the socket is roundedso that it does not cut into the cap. Thel tapering of the projection 37 and the socket 35 results in a wedging fit of the block, the shock absorbing action being substantially similar to Vthat of the upper cushioning means, the air cushion above the cap giving increased resiliency and permitting of considerable deection when weightv is exerted thereon without the shock of impact. In walking or standing the two cushions have a compensating action, the upper cushion receiving the shocks from the heel of the wearer while the lower cushion receives the impact shocks in walking and each helps to a considerable eX- ytent the functioning vof the other.- In Figs. 5 and 6 'I have illustrated further modified form of heel cap according to my invention and which is attachable and detachable without the use of screws, nails or the like." The lower end of the heel is provided with a socket 44 having a reduced neck 45 formed by a pair'of opposed projecting shoulders 46 and 47 having lateral upper faces and rounded'lower faces liared to the periphery of the heel. The heel cap is formed lof rubber or other suitable resilient material andconsists of a lower exposed portion 48 conforming at its periphery to the contour of the heel, and provided at its lupper side lwith a plug or projection 49 of oval or other non-circular shape andI {iattened at itsupper side as at 51. The plug is cut out as at 52 and 53 at its opposed longitudinal sides.` The cap is` attached by forcing the plug into the socket under com pression, the .enlarged portion engaging above the shoulders.46 and 47 to lock the same in place. The plug is rounded as at 5 4 and this rounded ortionv co erates with the rounded under side of the s oulders 46 vand 47 to facilitate attaching of the heel. The periphery of the lug as also the socket v is tapered so that t e plug engages the socket with a wed 'ng fit and an air cushion space 55 vis provided above the plug.l A canalization 59 is provided in the plug eX- tending downward from the air cushion space 55, and constitutesan additional air cushion space. The space 56' Vbetween the ends of the heel and .the cap prevents distortion or warping of the cap and maintains at all times a snug fit between the cap and the peripheral portions-idf the heel, at the same time providing a s ac'e'for deflection of the cushion. In or er to eliminate vacuum inthe air cushion space a restricted air duct 57 'is provided in the heel extending to the socket, and if desiredv an air duct may I be rovided in the cap itself.

n Fig. 6, which is a plan view of the heel cap the canalization 59 is omitted, and I i-n- .tend this form,without the canalization as a further embodiment of my invention.

In the forms of my invention Shown in Figs. 1 to 4, it willbe noted, air is admitted and may escape slowly and under pressure from the air'pockets between the surface of the screws and the screw holes, or if desired, othery air ducts may be provided so as to eliminate vacuum; It will be understood that thev heel caps shown in Figs. 3 and 4 may also be embodied in the form of my invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and that the heel cap shown in Figs. 5 and 6 maybe embodied in the forms shown F igs. 1 to 4. l

have illustrated and described preferred and satisfactory embodiments of my invention, but it is obvious that changes may be made therein within the spirit and scope thereof, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a shoe, a shoe heel comprising a molded relatively hard main heel portion provided at its shoe engaging side with a recess, cushioning means disposed within said recess, the upper of said shoe extending between said main heel portion and said cushioning means, and nails passing through said cushioning means, and said upper and upset against the material. of said main heel portion to secure said upper to said heel.

v 2. In combination with a shoe, a shoe heelI comprising a main heel portion provided at i its .shoe engaging side witha recess, cush-l ioning means disposed within said recess, the upper of said shoe extending between said metal of said main heel portion and said cushioning means, n ails passing through 'said cushioning means and said upper and upset against said' main heel portion to Secure said upper to said heel, and removable means attachingsaid main heel portion to said cushioning means.

.3. In a, shoe heel, a main heel portion provided at its upper part with a'recess, a resilient cushioning block disposed in said recess and extending over substantially'the ,f freater'portion of the upper surface of saidr heel, said recess having its sides inclined inwardly to its base, said cushion having its sides correspondingly inclinedbut of less thickness than thel depth' of said recess, said cushion having its upperA surface substantially flush with the upper surface of said 'main heel portion, and its lower surface spaced from the base of said recess to'form au air pocket. g .4. In a shoe heel, a, main heelv provided at its upper part with a recess, a

-resil'ent cushioning block disposed in said portion ist; j

thickness than the depth of said recess, said'l cushion having its upper surface substan-4 tially flush with the upper surface of said main heel portion, and its lower` surface spaced from the base of said recess to form an air pocket, a pair of attaching screws ex tending through said cushioning block and screwed into said main .heel portion,` the headsof said screws being coun-tersunk in said cushioning block to permit deflection of said cushioning block without projection from the upper surface of said screw heads.

45. In a shoe heel, a main .heel portion pro.. vided at its upper part with a recess, said recess being provided substantially centrally with a downwardly extending pocket, a resilient cushioning block disposed in said recess and extending over substantially the greater portion of the upper surface of said heel, said recess having its sides inclined inwardly to its base, said cushion havingv its cushioning block, an engaging said pocket.

6. In a shoe heel, a main eel portion pro-V vided at its upp'er art with a recess, aresilient cushioning b ock disposed in said recessA and extending over substantially the greater portin of the upper surface of said heel, said recess having lts sides inclined inwardly of its base, a pair of attaching screws extending through said cushlonlng said cushioning block, and an arch s ring extending' over the upper surface of sai heel and 'provided with portions engaged beneath the heads of said'screws, said portions permitting deflection of said cushioning block without projection of said screw heads.

l block v and screwed into said main heel portion, the Aheads of said screws being countersunk in GABRIEL E. ROHMER.- y 

